Journey through Equestria
by Civviq Writer
Summary: Dear reader, I have been here for more than a week - but it feels like months or even years. A terrible, dard force is chasing me and I don't know who I can trust anymore - and who I can't. Cover art by Zap97 on DeviantART.
1. The First Entry

Dear reader,

This is the first page written in my journal. I have just bought this journal in a little quillshop just outside of Canterlot, along with a map. Right now, I am sitting on a bench, with my journal next to me. It is amazing here, and that's why I want to write about it!

I am going to travel all around Equestria and explore everything a unicorn filly like myself can do.

Oh, wait, I haven't introduced myself, have I? How rude of me. My name is Civviq Writer. Or rather, the name I chose for myself.

I used to be human. I have forgotten my human name and my human life. It just seems all like a blurry dream to me, but I'm sure I once was human. The only thing I remember, are some memories about my parents. They're smiling and laughing… but that isn't going to help me survive.

I do know about myself that I love to write. I used to write several stories about Equestria, but ever since I came here, there's no point in sharing them, because they're probably not true. I promise, that I will write only truths about my journeys. Travelling through Equestria will bring several adventures, so you will not be bored.

How I came here? That is a story I will tell when the time is right.

Anyway. I am now a unicorn. I have just begun to learn levitation, so I am writing this with the quill in my mouth. I can't write with hands, or rather, my hoofs anymore. Also, I haven't really had much good practice with writing, so I believe that over time you will see that my writing will improve.

Let me begin with the story of this book. I bought this book from the bits I had with me when I woke up again, in the fields nearby, under an old oak tree. Next to me was a saddlebag with some bits. Far above me I could see Canterlot in the mountain, not so far away. The lone mountain was in the east, and as far as I could see, there were several sorts of crops. Corn, rye, grain, and lush, and green grass as well. They are neatly devided in squares, separated with ditches or wire. Here and there were the occasional dark shapes of small bushes and trees. I looked on my map. It seems like I was in the Unicorn Range. Frankly, a good place to start for a unicorn like me. I smiled.

I already said I bought this journal a little outside of Canterlot. It was really not much more than a village. It was small, but it had a quill shop and a market.

I trotted into the village.

I had far too few eyes to see everything, really.

-Oh, sorry, but somepony's coming towards me! Gotta lay my pen down for now. I'll catch you later!


	2. the Second and Third Entry

Dear reader,

I'm sorry I let you hanging in there. I'm still on the same bench like before. The pony that was coming towards me, wasn't coming towards me at all. He dashed past me, towards the village, in a great hurry. I wonder where he was going, and why he was in such a hurry.

He's a pegasus, and I think he was quite young. I couldn't see his cutie mark, I think he has none.

About that: my age. I knew my age when I am a human, but here, I think I am relatively young. You see, I haven't got my cutie mark yet. I wonder what my cutie mark will look like. I think that, in time, it'll appear. But I still can't help but wonder.

The wind is beginning to blow harder and harder. What was a breeze, is now beginning to get a bit real cold. The sky is beginning to darken. I need a place to stay for the night, and I think the town I just came from had a tavern.

So, I need to say goodbye again. Catch you later!

Dear reader,

I'm back again. And right now, I'm at a place I really hadn't expected to be!

It is dark outside, and the wind is howling through the branches outside of the wagon. A wagon? Yes, with Wing Noir. But, how did we come here? Well, let me explain.

Remember the running pegasus? Well, he wasn't running for fun.

When I went into town to find a place for the night, I saw something lying on the streets. I walked towards it. It turned out to be a hat, a fedora to be precisely. The breeze began to play with it, but before It could go away again, I catched it with the little levitation magic I had, preventing it to go away. Quickly, I grabbed it with my mouth. It was a nice hat, and I thought by myself, if nopony came looking for it, I'll keep it.

However, before I could put it on, the pegasus I saw before came running towards me. This time for real. He stopped in front of me, panting. "My... *wheeze* Hat…. *wheeze* That's mine…"

I looked at him. He has a ash-grey coat, and brown mane and tail. His eyes were a brown with many gold specks in them. He also wears a black-brownish trenchcoat, with two holes for his wings.

It might be strange, but at that moment I realized I had no idea how I looked like.

Anyhow, I opened my mouth to say something, but that made the hat escape. It danced away with the wind again, before I could grab it. So I attempted to catch it with my levitation spell – but before I could fail, he already had grabbed it with his mouth. And then, with one swift move, he had put it on his head.

"Oh, I… I'm sorry." I said, ashamed. He looked angry, and turned around to walk away, leaving me behind. That's not very nice, I thought by myself.

"Wait!" I yelled. He stopped and turned around.

"What?" he said, annoyed.

"I told you, I'm sorry that I dropped your hat."

"Apology accepted." , he said, sarcastic, and turned away to leave.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I said, and ran until I walked next to him.

"Away from here."

"That's not an answer."

"Yes, it is."

To be honest, I was taken aback from his coldness. In this world full of happy ponies, why was he so gruff?

"Wait! Can I know your name? Please?"

He huffed. "Why are you so stubborn?" He sighed. "My name is Wing Noir. If you really want to know where I'm going, I'm off to find… something. Now, go back home, and leave me be."

That comment struck me a bit. Home…

"I don't have a home."

He stopped and stared at me, surprised. "You don't?"

I shook my head. "No. I… I'm lost… and I don't know where to go."

Tears. There were tears in my eyes. I swear, I didn't mean for them to appear, but I guess the child in me came up again and began to cry. I missed home, and that's enough reason. Nevertheless, it was humiliating to be crying in front of everypony…

I heard him sigh. I looked up and saw he sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry. I… I'm lost too. I'm looking for my home, but I can't find it."

"I'll help you." I offered. He looked at me, surprised.

"Really? You want to help?"

I smiled through my tears. "Yes. Really."

He smiled back, a bit unsure. "Then, let's go."

And so, we walked out of the town, together.

Well, dear reader, now there rests only one more explanation before I can go to bed: how I came in the wagon.

Well, shortly after we left town, we took a wrong turn and ended up in a forest.

The forest was dark, and we already had traveled to deep in there to turn back. I couldn't look at the map, because the sun was already gone and the moon couldn't shine through the thick layers of leaves.

I felt as if many eyes were looking at us, and I think he felt so too. We had to find a place to spend the night, stat.

It was Wing Noir who caught sight of it. "Hey, look there!"

I tried to see through the bushes, but I couldn't. Or, wait…

"Is that… a wagon?"

I tried to do illumination with my horn, and I could send a little spark, just enough to see the wagon. It was old, and seemingly abandoned. The dust and the moss had covered the wagon's true colors, but I think it was used by travelling circus-ponies. It was beautifully decorated, or well, it used to.

"Let's take a look." , Noir said. I was a little afraid of what we would find, but I followed him.

Noir brushed some of the moss off, and revealed a door. The slot was rusty, and broke easily. The door slowly opened, creaking heavily. I gulped, and I could tell he did so too.

The wagon wasn't big, but it used to be a home to somepony. The interior smelled muff, but there was a bed/couch, a chair and some cupboards. Nopony was there.

We looked everywhere, but except some cups, plates and spare blankets we didn't find anything. We decided to sleep on the floor on the blankets, since the bed/couch didn't seem strong enough. There were some oil lamps and damp matches, but we found one that still worked, and created some light. In that light I am writing this now. Wing Noir is already sleeping.

Just one more thing: I found out how I look like. In one side of the wagon, there's a small kitchen. Inside one of the cupboard doors, there's a mirror.

Believe it or not, the first thing I noticed were my glasses. I was surprised, because I didn't feel it. The glasses were round, and orange. I noticed that I had soft, orange/yellow eyes.

My coat is purple. My mane is a bit wavy, with orange and yellow. My tail was wavy as well, but it had other colors: it was a bit darker purple then my coat and had bright, dark blue strikes. I also had freckles on my cheeks.

I smiled. I looked better than ever.

I feel I have to yawn – yes, I just yawned. It's time to sleep.

It's still raining outside, so I couldn't see the moon.

I'm going to walk to my blankets and curl up in them, pony-style, for the first time in my life.

Yes, it has been a long, long day, so now I'm going to lay my pen down and give my muzzle a little rest. It's a bit stiff from the writing.

Good night, dear reader. Good night.

***A little note here: Wing Noir belongs to TH3 BL1ND PR0PH3T***


	3. 4 The dream

Dear Reader,

Well, first I would like to say good morning. I yawned, I stretched, grabbed the quill and began to write.

Oh, excuse me, I just yawned again.

But that wasn't what I really want to tell you. No, I want to tell you about the dream I had. It was a really special dream, so I really want to tell you.

I fell asleep. It was dark at first, but then it became lighter. And the lighter it became, the foggier it got, so all I could see where those thick, white clouds.

Looking down, I couldn't even see my body. But it felt… really weird. As if was human again. But that was impossible – I didn't even know how I became a pony in the first place. But I think that doesn't matter in a dream, though.

I could hear voices emerge from the thick fog. They were laughing and talking, but I couldn't hear what they said. I tried to walk towards them, but as soon as I was in seeing and hearing distance, the fogs would become thicker and I couldn't hear them anymore.

That made me really, really, really nervous. Not nervicited, more like scared – nervous. You could say panic.

I began to run around. Now I've come to think of it, I was running on two legs – and the next moment at all fours – and then on two legs again. I didn't think of it back then, because I was so scared.

There were the voices again. I instantly recognized them – they were my parents.

But they weren't laughing anymore. They were screaming for me to run.

Their voices echoed all over the fog. Run. And I ran.

Run.

I ran the other direction, but I couldn't escape the maniacal laughter that seemed to come from everywhere.

Run.

The laughter slowly came closer, and closer…

Run.

But just at that moment when I was sure to see the face of the one who was laughing, the fog disappeared. It just went away, as if it was never there.

I could see that I was standing on grass. It was a huge field, with grass everywhere. The ground sloped down slowly from where I was standing, so it seemed like I was on top of a hill.

It was night, yet it wasn't dark. The moon and the stars gave so much light, that the grass bathed in a silver shimmer. I lifted up my arm – it was a purple hoof. I sighed, but I couldn't tell what kind of sigh it was.

Then, a voice spoke, a voice as smooth as the night itself.

"Fear not, my little pony."

I looked up to see a dark blue alicorn mare, flying towards me. Her mane was absolutely beautiful: they were as blue as the night sky, with all the stars in them.

"You are safe now."

I looked around. "Where am I? Is this a dream?"

She nodded. "Yes. This is a dream."

"What is your name?" I asked.

"I am Princess Luna," she answered.

I gasped in surprised, and wanted to bow, but she stopped me.

"Don't worry, my little pony. May I inquire your name?"

My voice shook as I answered. "M-my name i-is Civviq W-writer."

She nodded. "Where are you from?"

When she finished asking that, the fog suddenly returned, heavier than ever. We were both surprised. Quickly, she flapped her wings to get rid of the fog. She succeeded, but there were still a few strands left and they were multiplying by the second.

She then said her goodbyes.

"I don't have much time anymore. Take care, little filly, and keep your friends close. Don't worry about your past, for it will reveal itself in time."

She flew away, towards the moon. I still could see a glimpse of it, before It became too foggy to see.

But through the fog, I could see a road appear out of nowhere. It was a sandy road that went straight through the fields.

I could hear Luna's voice. "Follow the road to your future, and let it reveal your past."

I tried to run over the path, but quickly it became too foggy to even be able to see the road. I tripped, and when I stood on all fours again, faces appeared in the fog. Luna, Wing Noir, the salesponies in the village, the other ponies in the village, other faces of darker colored ponies I didn't recognize… and human faces...

The laughing had returned, but it all became dark. It was then, when woke up with a start.

I looked outside. It was still night, and I was too tired to reach for my notebook, so I fell asleep again. I didn't dream anything more I could remember or were worth remembering that night.

When I woke up again, the sun was shining through the dusty windows of the card. Wing Noir was already awake and preparing himself to leave.

And so, I grabbed my quill, inkpot and notebook and jotted this down.

So, this was my dream. I don't know what to think of it, so maybe you do? I hope so. If it keeps returning, well… But what am I worrying about. It probably won't.


	4. 5 and 6: Practice and a Stranger

5. Practicing

Dear reader,

I have seen a day, a night and a morning here in Equestria, and I have to say, the mornings are quite beautiful here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is still wet from the morning dew… Oh, yes, we were lost. But as soon as we found the sun shining through the trees, we followed the road and came at the edge of the forest where there was a fork in the road: one continued back to Unicorn Range, one continued to Vanhoover, one to Tall Tale, one to the Smokey Mountains and one to Galloping Gorge.

We are resting in the grass beside the fork now. We ate some wild apples and berries Wing Noir found. I continued practicing my magic by lifting branches. When they were well into the air, I could slowly lower them, point towards the dirt, and write big letters in them. That went pretty well, but when I lose concentration, I let them drop. That is normally after a minute. Lifting several branches is just like that, but then even shorter. Funny enough, writing with my horn is easier than with sticks. I am writing with magic now, and it goes surprisingly easy.

I just picture the movements in my head, and then the quill follows them. Wing Noir says that isn't normal writing at my age already with my horn. So considering the fact that I am here for just two days, I guess my special talent could be very well this. However, when I try to lift my notebook and then write in it, it doesn't work very well. I just can't focus so long on two different things, I always let them drop. It is annoying me beyond my wits. But I guess I have to have patience, or find out what I'm doing wrong. But we have to move now.

We have made up our mind, or rather, Noir did.

Yesterday, he said that he had some relatives living in Vanhoover, so I hope he knows what he's doing.

6. Stranger

Dear reader,

We have stopped again now, this time for lunch. We didn't talk much, again. I still tried to make some friendly conversation, but he only answered with single-syllable words or gruff answers. So I just tagged along behind him. I guess he regrets having asked me to go with him now.

I just hope I soon discover how I can make him a bit happier.

Oh, and, before I forget: 'we' means 'three ponies' now.

Here you go:

Just before we stopped for lunch, we met a stranger. He was walking faster than we were, coming right at us. I got scared and walked up to Noir. I whispered: "Noir, there's somepony coming towards us."

He nodded, and when I was behind Noir again, he glanced casually over his shoulder. It was a dark grey unicorn stallion, with crimson manes and tail. I wondered why he was going so fast. Wing Noir slowed down to walk next to me, on my left.

"Don't worry, he's probably just passing by," he whispered. But he should realize. Kids, at our age, alone on the road… We could get robbed, or something!

You know, it might be a bit stupid, but it was only afterwards that I realized why he was walking on my left. I think it was to protect me. He was a bit older and bigger, and he was on the road for much longer. Letting me walk on the right side of the road, so that nopony could walk on my other side, and putting himself between me and the stranger, was pretty smart.

Maybe we are friends after all, and not just travelling colleagues.

Wing Noir glared at me, as if he had read my thoughts. Okay, never mind. The stranger was coming closer now. He would be with us at any moment. We could hear his hoofs stomping against the dirt road very clearly now. I swallowed.

"Hey, kids! What are you doing here, alone, in the middle of nowhere?"

Oh boy.


	5. 6,2 and 7: To Vanhoover

"Hey, kids! What are you doing here, alone, in the middle of nowhere?"

Oh boy.

Noir glared at him. "We aren't alone."

He smiled back, despite Noir's glare. "Well, then, where are your parents?"

Noir kept looking straight forward. I did the same.

The stranger nodded, knowingly.

"You know, it could get quite dangerous after dark."

"Thank you for your concern." Noir retorted, gruff.

Okay, that was just plain rude. The stranger was just trying to be nice. I had a feeling he was genuinely concerned.

The stranger laughed a bit. "I bet your parents taught you a thing or two about talking to strangers, am I right?"

We both flinched, visibly, at the same time. He saw that, and realized his mistake.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Shadowflame, but you can call me Shadow, if you like. I'm a professor at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

I didn't know what that was, but Noir certainly did. He relaxed visibly when he heard that, and took a look at his flank.

"I guess you are telling the truth, after all," he said. I knew that was the same as an apology.

He smiled at us. "Good that you think so of me."

He then looked at me, curious. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"Have you dyed your mane, or your tail, or both?"

That question took me off guard. I couldn't help but laugh a bit. Even Noir smiled; no doubt he had asked the same question to himself.

"No! I haven't. They are my natural colors."

He laughed too, now. "How interesting!"

Now I felt it was my turn to question him.

"But, if you work for Celestia's school, why aren't you there?"

"Well, that is because I am more like a field teacher; I travel a lot, write some spells and then return to teach them there, at school. Sometimes, I even bring a student with me on my travels! But, as you can see, today is not the case," he answered.

Noir was listening quietly, up until now.

"Where do you live? Do you have any family somewhere?"

"Well… I do have some family in Canterlot, I guess, but I haven't seen them in quite a while."

Shadow looked at him. "I think I haven't caught your names yet."

"My name is Wing Noir," he said. "And this is Civviq Writer."

He nodded. I was a bit offended; I could tell him my name myself just as good.

"Hey, can you teach me some magic?" I asked. "I can do some levitation, but I still can't do it really good."

He nodded again. "I will do that! Besides, I'm hungry. Why don't we stop for lunch? I have enough food for all of us!"

And so, we stopped for food and practiced a bit of magic, teaching me how to levitate two things at once, and improved my writing.

"Of course," Shadow said, "You must keep practicing, if you want to improve."

I agree with this. I will practice as much as I can.

Now, I will lay my pen down and continue travelling to Vanhoover.

Dear reader,

Now, I'm writing while I'm walking! It Is so amazing! I can just totally walk and talk and write at the same time! Yes! All thanks to Shadowflame.

Speaking of which, he is talking to Wing Noir right now. I can't hear what they're saying right now, because I fell too far behind, but I guess it isn't for my ears – or pen, for that matter. I am surprised that they haven't asked for my notebook yet, but they're probably really curious for what exactly is in there.

But I won't tell them. No, I won't show them yet what I wrote.

Now I can write while I walk, I can describe my surroundings better. Right now, for example, we are walking on a sandy road, as always.

At both sides of the road, there was first a verge made of grass, and then a ditch. At my left, there was a small patch of forest. The trees were close to each other, and I could hear plenty of birds tweeting and twinkering and singing for the afternoon sun. On my other side there was a big field full of crop: mainly golden rye, and occasionally the green sprouts of carrots or potatoes and wide, green fields of grass with cows grazing on them.

It had gotten colder over time. You can see that in the surroundings: the forests are more pine than loaf trees, and there were less crops and more fields with cows and there is just more forest.

We are nearing Vanhoover quickly, that's for sure. The sun is already beginning to set. We are climbing up a hill now. There! There's Vanhoover! We stay on the top to admire the view.

Shadow calls. "So, kids, have you already thought about where you're going to stay for the night?" he says. We shake our heads. We haven't thought about that since we left the old, abandoned wagon. Shadowflame uneasily shifts his weight from two legs to another.

"I know we haven't had a good start, but do you trust me enough when I say I know a good inn in town, where we each can have separate rooms for not so much bits and still be clean enough to sleep in?"

Me and Noir look at each other, doubting.

"But we don't have any bits." Noir said.

"I'll pay."

We look at each other again. "Well…" I say.

"I have some family in Vanhoover. We can sleep there."

Shadow nods. "And what if they're not home, or they don't want you to stay with them, or you don't know where they are?"

It's clear, Noir doesn't know what to say, so I decide to help him a bit.

"Why don't we do it like this: you go ahead to the inn and show us where it is. Then, we go find Noir's family and ask them if we can stay with him, and if we can't find them or if we can't stay, we'll sleep at the inn."

Noir nods. Oh?

"I agree. If we aren't back in an hour since we parted, you can say we're safely at the home of my family."

But Shadowflame still seems a bit unsure.

"Well, if you say so… But do have in mind, I probably know the city better then you do, so please, let me come with you, because I really don't feel comfortable leaving you alone."

Noir lowered his head and nodded. "You've got a point there," he said.

And so we went to Vanhoover.

**A few credits:**

**MLP belongs to Hasbro & co**

**Civviq belongs to me!**

**Wing Noir belongs to TH3 BL1ND PR0PH3T**

**Shadowflame belongs to Shadowflame on **

**Thank you all so much! If your OC isn't in here yet, have patience. They will come when the story calls for it.**


	6. Family?

Dear reader,

It didn't exactly go as planned, sadly enough. I hadn't gotten the time to write while walking, because I was a bit tired of writing that whole conversation down.

But I'm safe now, under the covers of my bed in a shared two-bedroom apartment. Because I was the only girl, I didn't have to share a bedroom. That's a relief.

It also seemed that Shadow and Noir had become friends. Noir is still gruff to him, but just as gruff as he is to me, and less gruff then before. But still, trust isn't something that is easily to gain. I think Noir trusts me; I certainly trust him. Shadow trusts us and I trust him, and I think Noir trusts him too. There's still much to learn about them.

I still have to laugh at the silly things we talked about during the last mile of our trip, nearing Vanhoover. It just felt so right. He also taught me some more tricks, like lighting up my horn faster and better, and he even learned me to let a ray of light point north!

Yes, being in the presence of a teacher certainly is a great experience.

Anyhow.

We trotted into town.

To be honest, I've never been in a town this big. I was overwhelmed by everything: the noises, the smell, the feeling to be in a city that big. All those tall buildings, the hurries of the cabs; I've never seen so many ponies at one place before. It is astounding.

And so I bumped into quite a few ponies.

"Watch it!" "Look out!" "Stop dreaming and look ahead!"

And Noir would get them back with a snarl and a look at me I couldn't place. I think it is concern, but I'm not sure.

Shadow didn't seem to be impressed at all of the city. He just walked on, straight ahead. It was getting a bit dark.

"So, where are those family members of yours?" Shadow asked. Noir shrugged.

"This way."

He lead the road. Left, right, right again, left. Through a maze of alleys he lead us to an old, abandoned building.

He knocked.

Nopony came.

"Wing Noir, are you sure…"

A scream suddenly pierced the evening sky.

"Wing Noir! How dare you come back here!" An old, male, drunken voice said, from one of the open windows.

"After all these years! After all these years that your father died! You didn't even once visited us! Not even once!" the stallion babbled, with a double tongue. He shouted at the end.

"But… Uncle, I…"

"No! No Uncle! I'm not your uncle anymore! Now shoo!" The window, two stories high, third on the left, closed with a loud bang. It made Noir flinch, something I have never seen him doing since I have met him.

Okay, that isn't long, but I'm sure he's not the pony to flinch.

"I think we'd better be going." Shadowflame said. I nodded, too. I don't want to be here when the sun has set completely.

But Noir just stood there, completely still.

The main disadvantage of being me, is that I can't penetrate other minds to see what they're thinking. That would be mighty interesting. However, I don't think you need to be a psychic to know what he's going through. He just lost part of his family, he has to rely on somepony he met just that day for food and shelter. I don't think he's very happy with it.

Scratch that, I think he's depressed.

Right now, he needs a shoulder to cry on – even though he won't exactly cry, but nevertheless, he needs somepony, a friend. And I knew that that friend has to be me.

The thing is: I have absolutely no idea how to be a friend.

So I just sat there, until I couldn't bear it anymore and sat down next to him.

There, in the middle of the rubble and puddles in the cracked pebbles, I sat down to give him some comfort. And before I knew I was trying to talk to him.

"Hey."

I nudged him.

"I… I'm sorry about your uncle."

He didn't respond.

"Noir?"

Still nothing.

"Come, Noir. It's getting a bit late."

Nope.

I guess I just have to wait until he's ready to go. And yes – after a while, he stood up, without a word.

And without a word Shadow lead us to the inn where he could rent a room. They were full, except a two-bedroom apartment, so he took that. Was a lot more cheaper anyway.

And without a word we ate our supper quickly and without a word we went to bed, they in one room and I in the other.

And so I am lying here, writing down the rest of the day until now.

So now I'm lying my pen down to go to sleep, wondering what the next day will bring.


	7. Nightmare

Dear reader,

This night was more than a nightmare.

It was real.

But I saved our lives, by a nightmare, too. Strange.

Now, before I begin, I need to tell you something about our hotel room.

The room is at the third floor. When you come in, you are standing in a narrow hall with at your left the door to the bathroom. Then comes a small living room, with just enough space for a couch, a tv and a table. There is a window right in front of you, big, and you're able to open it wide.

There are two doors on your left, each leading to a bedroom. I sleep in the second bedroom, the one closest by the window.

The building itself is 5 stories high, made of wood and stone. The roof is made with stone tiles and hay on top.

With this in the back of our heads, we'll return to the nightmare.

In my dream was it twilight this time. The fog, which were actually many low clouds, was colored purple and orange in the setting sun. the road was almost clearly visible through the fog. So I began to walk.

I couldn't hear anything this time, except the muffled beat of my hooves against the sand. I could hear my heart beating and myself breathing. I tried to speak, because it was creeping me out a bit. But how hard I tried, there came no sound out of my throat.

The fog lifted, revealing a house. It was a single row house, just standing there in the middle of the grass field. It was eerily familiar. There was also something off with the house. The walls on the sides, where the other adjoined houses should be, were clean, and the garden was well-kept. There was nothing really out of the ordinary, it just seemed so out-of-place.

Even though the fog has lifted, it wasn't gone. It was creeping up behind my back, and if I didn't move, it would gobble me up. So I ran towards the house, opening the garden gate swiftly. Just as swiftly as if it were the thousandth time I did it. It didn't surprise me at that time though.

I ran inside, just in time, before the fog could reach the door. It was whispering frantically now.

Inside the house it was quiet, just as quiet as at the beginning. The house was empty, not a single piece of furniture was there. I walked further into the house.

Laughter sounded from upstairs – the same laughter and chattering from last night, the laughter and chatter of my parents. I ran upstairs – but then, the screams began.

"Run!"

"Run!"

"Run!"

I staggered on top of the stairs. The fog has come into the house, into the room the screams came from.

"Run!"

The fog turned into smoke. The thick, black smoke made me cough like a madman. I tried to see, to see where my parents where, but it was no use.

The scream stopped, the maniacal laughter began. I tried to find the door out, but I couldn't. The smoke was just to dig to see anything.

I managed to reach a window. Outside was filled with smoke.

Behind me I heard footsteps.

Footsteps?

Just as I thought I would collapse in the smoke, I heard a voice.

It was cold, and dark, and made me shiver in fear.

"Hello."

I opened my mouth, and finally I could scream. I shot up in my bed, still screaming, thanking Luna the dream was over.

But the nightmare didn't stop.

It was hot in my room, too hot. A faint smell of smoke reached my nose.

Wing Noir stormed into my room, finding me bathing in sweat, shaking like a leaf and wide-eyed out of fear. He looked at me, concerned.

"Civviq! Are you okay?"

I managed to nod, faintly. Shadow stepped into my room as well.

"Pack your things, quickly. The roof is on fire, and it doesn't seem as if anypony has raised the alarm yet."

Immediately, I jumped out of bed. I snatched my glasses off my nightstand, reached for my saddlebag and left the room.

A deafening coming from the roof made the three of us freeze in our steps.

"What was that?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"The roof… I think it has collapsed." Shadow replied. "Run!"

When Shadow and Noir ran for the door, another explosion sounded.

And then, right above my head, a crack appeared in the ceiling. I yelped and tried to reach the door before the ceiling collapsed. But I wouldn't have reached it in time, if it weren't for Noir.

I just stood there, frozen, as the cracks went wider and wider with the millisecond. Everything went into slow motion. I could hear Shadow shout, very faint.

"Run!"

When he said that, I could hear other voices scream for me to run. The voices from my nightmare, the voices from the ones I loved most – but where taken from me by a fire. A fire that was set ablaze by the ones… the ones…

"Civviq!"

Right before the ceiling would fall on me, Noir dashed forward and pulled me out of the falling range. On the spot I was standing one second before, was now only rubble and heavy wooden planks. I would've been crushed.

"Are you okay?" he said. I just managed to nod.

He helped me on my feet.

"What was that?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing.. nothing…" I tried to breath, but I coughed then, wildly.

"Noir! Civviq! Are you okay?" shouted Shadow.

"Yeah!" replied Noir. "But how are we going to get out?"

The burning rubble split the room in two: the part where Shadowflame was standing, and the part where I and Wing Noir was standing: with our backs to the window.

"Go through the window! I'll see you in front of the inn! Now hurry!" Shadow left.

"You heard him," he said to me, "grab my hoof."

"What?" I blurted out.

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded, coughing.

"Then grab my hoof." he said resolutely.

And I grabbed his hoof. He pulled me on his back and jumped out of the now burning building, into the late night sky.

He soared over the building for a moment, going out of the smoke. looking for a spot to land. The surroundings were now crowded with ponies. We could see the pegasi coming towards us with the rainclouds to kill the fire.

Then Noir began to look for a good place to land in the crowd. He found one, and we landed safely on the ground. I was still coughing and panting from all the action, and he was too. Before I could stop myself, I hugged him tightly, a waterfall of silent tears streaming down my face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" I said, over and over again. He just smiled and hugged me back, until I let go. And when my mind has caught up with me, I did. I blushed and looked towards the ground.

"Sorry…" I said, quietly. But when I looked up to his face, he shook his head.

"No. I should thank you," he said, "because you trusted me."

And with that, he pulled me up to my hooves and helped me walk, so we could find Shadowflame.


	8. After the Nightmare

Dear reader,

I'm still catching my breath from tonight. We're sitting in a diner now, enjoying pancakes with syrup. It's great, but it would be better if my nightmare isn't chasing me everywhere I go.

I'm sitting next to Wing Noir. I catch him stealing glances from time to time, and I catch myself doing so too. Shadowflame is sitting across the table, watching us, and smirking knowingly.

As a matter of fact, Shadowflame made me write this all down. If he didn't, I wouldn't have picked up the quill in a long, long time. I was shaking, I couldn't concentrate so I had to do it with my mouth. I'm still shaking, actually.

How did he get away, anyway? I have no idea, so I asked him. I tried to lift my quill with magic – and I succeeded! Yes!

Anyway, he thought for a moment. "Well… After I went through the door, I ran for the nearest exit: the stairs. I ran down, but at the second floor I heard a loud thump and a crack behind me. I looked and saw that the stairs collapsed! I ran as fast as I could, but the stairs in front of me were blocked too.

I had to come up with something, fast.

The wall behind me was also the outer wall. It had a window in it, big enough for me to go through – but too high for me to reach for. It would be too high to jump anyway.

You know, last week, I wrote a new spell. There are many spells out there, but not so much spells on force fields. Most force fields are used as shields or barriers, protecting you with walls or domes. My spell, however, expands its usability from just shields to, well, anything you'd like.

So I decided to test a new spell about floating platforms.

I'm not going to endlessly talk about how I did it, but I succeeded in the nick of time, and safely floated out of the window between the second and the first floor. It did attract the attention of quite a few ponies, but when my hooves safely touched the ground, there was nothing more to see for them anymore.

So, then, I went to find you, and I did, and well, you know the rest."

I nodded. Yes, we knew the rest, for sure.

I looked out of the window. The moon was now almost setting.

"Oh, I have an idea!" says Shadowflame. "How about we watch the sunrise at my favorite spot?"

Wing Noir clearly doubts this idea. "I don't know," he says, "I just want to get out of this place, before anything else bad happens."

I nodded, shivering. Wing Noir touched my shoulder for a second, and I stopped shivering. Shadowflame sighs.

"It'll be safe, I promise."

Shadow paid for the pancakes, and we prepared to leave.

Dear reader,

I can tell you, sunrises in Equestria truly are beautiful. Especially if you're with ponies you like. Maybe, just maybe, even like-like. Eheheh, don't let Noir read this. Ever.

Wing Noir is interesting, I can give you that. Hard on the outside, kind on the inside. He is a mystery, and I like to solve one. But after the fire, he's way more than a mystery now. I don't even know what.

I mean, come on. I only know him for three days and I'm way too young to even think about that kind of things. And I only know him for three days. Three days. Three! Days!

But I trust him, and he trusts me. He is my friend, that's for sure now.

It isn't hard to think about these things when you're watching the sunrise. The sunrise is truly beautiful; I already said that, but I'm going to repeat it. The sunrise is gorgeous.

Shadowflame brought us to the woods, not far from town. It was still very dark there, but you could see the grayish light of dawn approaching. Through the branches you could see the stars faint and the moon low.

We came on an open spot, in the middle of the woods. A hillside, full of green grass, gave a beautiful view of the city, and the mountains around the city, and most important: the sunrise.

Daisies and dandelions, buttercups and forget-me-nots added some color to the green grass, but all seemed gold in the early morning sun. The clouds and the sky were painted in many orange, yellow, purple and blue varieties. The mountains were colored gold as well, its snow yellow and the rocky mountainsides brown-gold.

Just like his eyes, I thought. I sighed. I saw him glancing at me. I wonder what he's thinking right now. I also wonder if it would be so good if I'd be able to read his mind. I look at him, he's looking at the mountains too, away from me.

I sighed again. What will this day bring?

Dear reader,

We're on the road again. Shadowflame says he's got some friends in Tall Tales, a bit to the south. So now we're walking through a forest path. It wasn't without hesitation, though.

"So, where are we going now?" Shadow said, after the sky has reached its natural blue colors of the day.

Noir huffed. "Are you kidding? 'We' aren't going anywhere anymore." He stood up and walked away.

"Noir, wait!" I shouted. "Where are you going?"

"Away."

"But-"

"No." He turned around, his eyes brimming with tears. "Everywhere I go, something bad happens. Shadow, Civviq, I'm sorry I had to put you all through this. I shouldn't have agreed to travelling with you." He stared into my eyes, and then at Shadow's, and then turned around to go.

"You think this is your fault?" Shadow said, standing up. Wing Noir looked back. "Noir, if it is anypony's fault, It's mine. I chose the inn."

Noir huffed, turning around to face him. "Yes, you did. You did choose the inn. But I am the bad luck. My mom didn't want me because of my bad luck. Dad left because of my bad luck. And see where it got him?"

"Noir, don't be so irrational," Shadowflame said, stomping his hoof. "I'm sorry about your parents, but nopony can ever embody bad luck, unless you're some or another spirit. And you aren't a spirit, you're just a pony that comes across bad things."

"No. I am bad luck. And you have to go without me."

Shadow raised his voice. "Noir. Stop thinking like that. The fire wasn't your fault."

Now Noir raised his voice too. "No, it wasn't. Like you said, it was your fault, because you chose the inn."

"Oh, so now you're holding a grudge against me?"

"If you really want me to."

"You aren't old enough to travel alone."

"I've been doing so for years, and I'm still here."

"For now."

"What are you saying?"

I thought it was time to say something, before it went out of hoof.

"Guys, stop," I tried to say, "please? Stop?"

They didn't hear me, so I raised my voice gradually with each shout.

"Guys? Guys, stop. Stop it!"

They looked at me. I took a deep breath.

"Please, it was neither of your fault. That fire had nothing to do with either of you."

They both tried to say something, but I stopped them. "No. Please, stop arguing. There is nopony to blame. I mean, you can't just leave? Just because something bad happened?" I stopped, to look both of them in their eyes.

"After all, bad things will happen if you're alone as well, and you can face things better together then alone."

I looked at them, pleading. "Please, you are the only ones I know best. Please don't give up now."

Silence.

"Well…" Shadow said to Wing Noir, "She does have a point…"

Wing Noir looked at me, uncertain of what to do. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Absolutely."

We looked at each other.

"Well then, where will we go?" I asked.

Shadowflame thought for a moment. "I think we need to rest, somewhere where it's safe. I have a friend in Tall Tales. Maybe we should go there, see if he's willing to take us in."

Wing Noir looked to his hooves, mumbling something inaudible. I nodded.

"All right. This way, then."

And Shadowflame lead the way.


	9. Water Word

Dear reader,

The cliff is steep, the edge is near, the fall is long. I get the chills every time I look over the edge, so I don't do that very often. Maybe I shouldn't be writing right now, but look where I put my hooves.

Dear reader,

Okay, we reached a safer path now. Luckily, I didn't fell down. I almost did, however, because of a loose rock, when I was a bit close to the edge. If it weren't for Noir, I would've been dead by now.

I didn't get to thank him. When he pulled me off the edge, he just huffed and told me to look out. I don't understand him for a bit sometimes.

Shadowflame is telling me to keep up. Being on the road for years makes it easy for him to keep on walking; but I've been walking for three days now and the nightmare doesn't help very much. My hooves are killing me and my head hurts.

Maybe I should stop using magic. Hopefully that will help.

Dear reader,

I am so glad the walk is over. Tall Tales isn't nearly as big as Vanhoover, but it is still a nice little town. The houses are welcoming, and the air is crisp and clean. It is also a bit warmer than Vanhoover. Not much, but enough to feel the difference.

I first saw Tall Tales from the mountain path, one of the entrances to the city. I was standing quite high, but you do have a pretty view from there. Tall Tales lies in a valley, surrounded by mountains. You can see patches of green on the mountains, where cattle grazes; or the darker green of evergreen woods. It is a beautiful sight.

Tall Tales seems so small in comparison to the mountains, its houses tiny against the great mountains, topped with snow. To make up for that, there are also very, and I mean very, tall buildings, being able to house hundreds of ponies. But that doesn't make it less beautiful, no: the blue glassed buildings reflects the green and brown of the mountains and the clear, blue sky beautifully. You could almost say, that the buildings are almost grown out of the ground, ready to compete with the mountains.

But I'm getting off track now.

From high, the buildings may seem big, but when you're standing below them; then they're just grand.

Just like Vanhoover, I walk with my eyes wide open and bump into a lot of ponies. But here, they're much nicer: they just glare at me, or look at me as to say 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!'

Some even stare at me; I wonder why.

I asked this to Shadowflame. He smiled.

"Look at the resident ponies. What do you see?"

I looked. "I see… pegasus ponies… and earth ponies… and unicorn ponies?"

He shook his head. "Look at their mane and tails."

I looked a bit better now. "They're the same color."

He nodded. "Odd colored mane and tails aren't something that is common here."

"Oh. I didn't know." I shrunk a little.

Wing Noir huffed and mumbled something inaudible.

"I'm sorry?" Shadow asked. Wing Noir glared at him and mumbled it again.

"What did you say?" Shadow said now, with a smirk.

"You heard me," he said, annoyed, "and I'm not going to say it again."

"Civviq didn't hear you," Shadow said, smirking, "and I'm sure she would want to hear it."

Noir blushed and sighed. He stomped his hooves on the brick road, looking – he blushed?

"I think the manes and tails of the others are less pretty, okay?" he blurted out.

You know what that meant? That he likes my mane and tail! I smiled and I felt my cheeks flush. "Thank you."

Shadow laughed. "Now, come on; we're almost there!"

We kept on walking, through the town center to the outskirts of town. There weren't much high buildings here, but there were mansions or big, old-Equestrian-style cottages.

Shadow stopped in front of one house. It isn't really big, but it certainly is spacious. It is a bit grayish-white colored; its front door is light blue and so are the window frames.

The front yard is covered with grass, with patches of violets of the same blue color.

Shadow walked over the garden path to the front door, and knocked.

A light blue unicorn stallion opened the door. His mane is dark blue – almost black, and short; his tail is short as well. I couldn't see his eyes through the sunglasses. His cutie mark is a quill made out of water.

"Aahh, Water Word! Long time no see, my friend!" Shadowflame said.

Water Word laughed. "Hello, Shadow! Decided to drop by and rest for a spell?" Shadow laughed. I was a bit confused.

"And who are you?" asked Water Word.

"Oh, some friends I picked up on the way. We have been through quite a lot, so I was wondering if we could stay here for a while until we're ready." Shadow replied.

Water Word nodded. "Of course you can. Come in."

I followed Shadowflame into the house. When I walked past Water Word, I could almost feel him staring at me. It sent shivers down my spine. Something was off, but I didn't know what. I shook the feeling off, though. It's probably nothing.

When we were all inside, Water Word shut the door and lead us into the house. He didn't take uff his sunglasses. Through a hall, we went to the door on our right into the living room. Through windows at the back of the house we could see the back yard. It's the same as the front yard, but bigger.

Continuing to the right, we came in the kitchen, and the back door to the garden.

Going back to the hall, we went to the left. There was a guest room; it has a bedroom, a bathroom and even a small living room.

Upstairs are the master's bedroom, and one level higher is the attic.

"Shadow, old friend," Water said, "you can sleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Kids," he turned to Noir and me, "You can share the guest bedroom."

"But, there's only one bed!" I said.

Water huffed. "Then one of you sleeps on the couch.'

It was getting late. The sun was starting to set and I began to feel hungry.

"Dinner will be ready soon." Water said.

"What are we going to eat?" asked Noir. Water laughed.

"Why, pizza of course! It should be here soon…"

The doorbell rang. "Ah, there it is! Now, if you will excuse me."

With big strides, he walked to the front door and get the pizza's.

Dinner wasn't bad. The pizza's were good and the mood was good, so I relaxed a bit.

Now I'm sitting on the couch. I insisted on it; I think Noir hasn't slept in a good bed in years, he said that himself. Writing, in the faint glow of my horn (I still need some practice), this down.

I feel my eyelids droop. My hooves still hurt from the long, long walking. I'm so happy we get to stay in a place for more than a night. Or at least, I hope we get to. Luck hasn't been on our sides lately.

_To my dear friend, Snipit Heartstrings, _

_I am in position. The subjects are safe, for now. I know that darker forces, the forces that pulled her here, are still out there. Who knows what will happen to her if they get a hold of her._

_But she has made some friends. Especially the one with the hat – I believe his name is Wing Noir, or something – seems to trust here, and she trusts him._

_I am happy to inform you that Shadowflame doesn't suspect a thing. I have to keep him close, though, or else something will happen to him too. Even though I don't know him as much as Water Word does, Celestia has given me strict orders to keep him safe due to his status in her school._

_I still am not entirely sure why the girl is so important, however. Maybe you can inform me about that. All I know is that she is from another world, brutally kidnapped and then just left alone to die. Why would anypony do that?_

_Please respond soon,_

_Yours truly,_

_Carbon Copy_

**Credits:**

**TH3 BL1ND PR0PH3T, owner of Wing Noir;**

**Shadowflame, owner of OC Shadowflame;**

**BroniesB4Honies, for Snipit Heartstrings.**

**CarbonLegend, for Carbon Copy**

**I only own Civviq Writer and Water Word.**

**MLP belongs to Hasbro.**


	10. Wing Noir

Dear reader,

My dreams were, once again, filled with fear. And smoke, fire and weird, dark faces. They keep giving me the chills. I had shot up, screaming, from that one terrible dream that always seemed to return.

I whimpered in fear, just thinking back to the dream. I cried softly in the blankets.

A soft voice called. "Civviq? Are you okay?"

I looked up. It was Wing Noir. In the faint, silver light of the moon I could see concern in his eyes.

I closed my eyes in thought. I opened them and softly, I replied. "Yes… I'm okay… I'm sorry I woke you up."

He walked a bit closer. "It's okay… I used to have nightmares too, you know. My parents…" He hesitated. I saw him staring at the floor, arguing with himself whether he would tell or not.

"You don't have to tell me. It's okay if you don't. You can tell when the time is right." I said to him.

He smiled and sat down next to the couch. "And when do you think the time is right?" he said, curious. I shrugged.

"That is up to you."

His smile got even bigger. His eyes softly glowed, an almost pure gold, in the silver moonlight. They reflected pain and suffering in the past, to kindness and compassion, and hope. So much hope.

"You know… not much ponies trust me so much."

I tilted my head. "Do you have something to hide, then?"

"No!" he said, a little too fast. Frustrated, he shook his head. "I mean, no, it's just… well… I'm a street child. They steal, they're dirty, they have no manners... they're only fit for the orphanage." He shuddered in fear for that word.

I shifted to take a better look in his eyes. "Do you steal? And, you don't seem so ill-mannered to me."

He lifted his hoof to his mouth to cover his snicker. "No, I don't steal. But don't you see the grumpy expression I seem to wear all the time?"

I nodded. "I do, but that's not you. Why do you always seem so grumpy anyway?"

He turned away. "That's complicated."

This time, I couldn't hold back a giggle. "I see."

He glared at me, and rolled his eyes. "You don't know anything about me. Why do you even trust me?"

I pondered about this for a moment. "Well… You're the first pony I've met… And you're my friend the longest, I guess. You've saved me. I wouldn't have survived a day on the streets without you. That's a fact."

He looked into my eyes. He was really surprised by my answer – In a good way, I think. He confirmed it with a hug. "Thank you… Nopony has trusted me like that, since I left…"

He pulled back and smiled. I smiled back. I yawned, suddenly feeling really tired. He held his hoof before his muzzle to try to hide a snicker, but he didn't succeed. I glared at him.

"It's not funny. I don't want to go to sleep." I shuddered, thinking about the nightmare.

He was a bit taken aback from my sudden grumpiness. "I thought I was the angry one here?"

My ears drooped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I understand if you don't want to sleep anymore, but you have to."

It was silent for a minute, before he shifted his sitting position in to a more comfortable one and spoke again.

"Go to sleep, Civ. I'll be right here, if it helps."

I couldn't help but smile. He spoke again, in a soft, caring tone I never heard of him before.

"Close your eyes, Civ. It'll all be alright in the morning."

I closed my eyes, and I was quite surprised that the nightmare didn't haunt me. No, this time I dreamt more happy things. Weird things, but a good weird. A weird you come across in every dream. I woke up from the morning sun, shining in my eyes. I squinted. Looking around, I saw that Noir had gone back to bed.

I smiled at tonight's memory, grabbed my quill and notebook and jotted this down.

Dear reader,

I'm sitting in the shade in the garden of the great trees in the back of the garden. It's a very relaxing day.

I read a book or two from Water Word's collection. (I absolutely love Daring Do.)

I learned another spell or two from Shadowflame. (Force fields are cool!)

I ate a bite or two. (Breakfast and lunch were delicious.)

I tried to write a letter or two. (And so I'm sitting here.)

But there is still something off with Water Word. The whole time he has been here, he hasn't taken off his glasses once, whether he's inside or not.

When I asked him about it, he just laughed.

"Kid, these glasses are the coolest things ever. I'm not going to take them off. Yeah!"

This still wouldn't ease my mind, but who knew?

Anyhow, I'm a bit worried about Wing Noir, though. He's been sitting around and staring into nothing all day. Well, I can see why. He still needs to process everything concerning his parents – but I still don't really understand.

Maybe I should go talk to him. Maybe sharing will make the burden a bit lighter, you know.

But would that be such a good idea? Maybe he wouldn't want to share, or maybe it'll make everything even worse. I mean, when he wants to tell it, he'll tell. All in good time.

But he won't be happy as long as he keeps it inside! He'll explode!

Well, there's only one way to find out.

I did it, dear reader. I talked to him!

So, I walked to him and sat down.

"Uhm… hey, Noir."

He said nothing, and kept staring at the trees.

"What's wrong?"

He flattened his ears, but straightened them again. He sighed. "Not now, okay?"

I nodded and remained silent. Instead, I kept studying the tree.

Trees are quite interesting, you know, when you take a closer look. They provide life and can be a home to several souls…

Anyway, we sat there for a while. I shifted position a couple of times, but I knew I had to have patience. Very much patience.

Then, he sighed. "Do you really want to know why I'm sitting here?"

I was silent for a moment. "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

I looked in his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

He looked back, surprised. Without hesitation, he answered.

"Yes."

He smiled, but didn't say anything for a while. He seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"You know," he said, slowly, "when I was really little, my family was still together. My earliest memory… is just us three, laughing and playing in our backyard.

It wasn't a big backyard, but big enough for us to throw a ball or play tag with my friends. I don't know how old I was then, but it's something to hold on to."

"But then, not shortly after, my mother got really sick. It was a very rare disease. I think she got it from the bite of the rat from the forest.

Cures were few and far between in our home town. Not even the best doctors could cure her."

He shivered for a moment at the memory. I put my hoof on his shoulder.

"And so, my father left to look for a cure. I was home alone with my mother and my half-blind and half-deaf grandmother."

He took a deep breath.

"Like I said, the sickness my mother had caught isn't something like the ordinary flu. It doesn't make you sick physically – it makes you sick in the head.

She wouldn't laugh, she wouldn't play. She turned cold and hating the whole world. She wouldn't let me play in the backyard, she wouldn't do anything. She just didn't care anymore.

But that wasn't the end of it. A year after father had left, even she began to lose all hope of his return and she began to blame me for it. Why? That still remains a mystery to me. But her screams and shouts and… and…"

He shakily breathed and sighed. The wind blew softly and the birds continued to whistle quietly and happily. The breeze was enough to make the leaves rustle in the trees, making soft, calming sounds.

"I'm sorry." I said. I wrapped my hoof around his. He looked up to me.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"I mean, I'm sorry about what happened to you." I looked in his eyes. "I'm not sorry that you told me. You trust me and I will not break that trust."

"Really?"

"Really. We're friends."

He returned staring in nothing. "Friends…"

A smile formed on his lips. It was only half a smile – but it was a smile.

"Friends. Heh. You know, one of the things my mother shouted at me was, that I would never have any friends. That nopony would ever really trust me again."

He looked at me. "Guess she was wrong then."

I frowned. "Why would she ever say that to you?"

Noir's expression turned into a hurt one.

"That… You remember my friends from long ago? Their parents had all forbidden to play with me after my mother turned into, well… you know. I was bullied at school. I had to take care of myself from then on – and I found that you could only survive when you were hard."

He sighed.

"But that just isn't me."

The breeze had turned into a stronger wind, that swept the branches and took the leaves away. The birds hadn't stopped singing, even though the wind blew stronger every minute. The wind brought the colder evening air, the sun was setting in vibrant colors. My pen was moving as fast as lighning. Noir only glared at it once.

Water Word and Shadowflame had gone inside when it was getting colder.

"Hey kiddo's! Come inside, the pegasi have planned a storm later this evening and you don't want to be outside when it happens!" shouted Water Word.

Noir and I looked at each other and stood up to go inside.

Dinner was ready; we're going to eat pizza. Again.


	11. Groceries

Dear reader,

Today, we are going into town! We need food; Water Word wasn't quite prepared for visitors…

So yeah, we are going to leave. I wonder if I should bring my quill and notebook with me; it is good practice if I keep on writing, after all. So I made up my mind and kept my quill scribbling over the paper, while we stepped outside to go shopping.

Well, what to say? The weather is nice. Water Word said it was a 10-minute walk to the market. He's walking in front of us, leading the way. As we moved on, we saw the houses change from big and spacious, with big, green gardens, to terraced houses with smaller gardens. In the inner city, there were a lot of flats.

After 10 minutes of going left, right, and straight on, we came to a big public square. The square was flanked with big apartment buildings, stretching high up to the air. The roads around the square were very busy, with cabs and carriages spreading their noises – and their immediate smell

In the middle of the square was a great, bronze statue of two Alicorns. I recognized the smaller one, Luna. I guess the other one must be Celestia.

Only now I see that Wing Noir was smirking to me. I shot him a glare.

"What?"

He smirked again and chuckled. "You might want to close your mouth, before you catch a fly."

Blushing, I snapped my mouth shot. I realized I had to be staring with my mouth open, when I was describing the square.

Water Word chuckled. "Okay, kids! Listen up."

He waited until we were all gathered around.

"I'm giving you a choice. Either you go with us, shopping for groceries…"

He pointed at a playground nearby. It had a slide, swings, and several more stands. Several other fillies and colts are playing there.

"…Or you can go play, make some friends, until we come and get you. So, what will it be?"

Well, the playground sure does sound tempting…

Wing Noir shrugged. "I don't care. What do you think, Civ?" he said, casually. But I can see, that deep down, he want to play as much as I do.

So I pointed at the playground. "I want to play!"

Shadow smiled. "All right! Remember, don't go away until we go looking for you!"

We nodded, and ran off. I'll put my quill and notebook back in my saddlebags – they'll only slow me down!

Yes, playing sure was fun! Water Word and Shadow came looking for us way too soon.

There was a little harsh moment, however, when two older colts entered the playground. They told us all to 'get lost' and some other foul things, because it was 'their playground'.

And, to make matters worse, they walked up to me and began calling me names because of how I look. And if there's anything I can't bear, it's bullying. Their words were still ringing in my ear.

"Ugly!"

"Blank flank!"

"Nerd!"

"Freckled freak!"

"Crybaby!"

I was on the verge of crying, when Wing Noir stood up.

"Leave her alone!"

This took the bullies off guard. The biggest one laughed mockingly and stepped forward.

"So you dare to step up to us, blank flank?" He pushed him away, but he stood up swiftly.

"Yes. I do."

This made the other colt laugh. "Trying to be brave, blank flank?" He snatched Noir's hat of his hat. "Trying to be cool, wearing fancy clothes?"

He put on his hat. With a fake voice, he said: "Oh, look at me, I'm soooo cool!"

This made Wing Noir even angrier. "Give it back to me!"

But he only laughed. "Catch it If you can!" He threw it to his comrade, who threw it back at the other again. Noir tried to catch it, but he failed every time.

This made me really, really angry. Picking on me, okay. But picking on my friends?

"Stop it!" I yelled, but that made the bullies laugh even harder. It was the only thing I could hear – their mocking laughter.

"Stop!"

A sudden surge of magic shot through my horn, into the air. It hit the two colts and the hat, leaving them immobilized in mid-air. Wing Noir flew up to get his hat.

By the time he got it, I realized what I had done. Panting, I lost my concentration and the two colts fell on the sand. They both struggled up and fled. The other colts and fillies, who seemed to have hold their breath the whole time, cheered.

After a moment of rest, we continued playing.

On the way back, Noir walked up to me. I smiled to him.

"Thank you."

He looked at me. "For what?"

"For standing up for me."

He shrugged. "You did the same for me." He smirked. "It was pretty cool what you did there."

I blushed. "To be honest… it was an accident. I don't regret it, however." I said, with a confident smirk. He chuckled, and sighed.

"I'm glad to have you as a friend."

I blushed. "I'm glad to have you as a friend as well."

He chuckled, and we both burst out laughing.

After five more minutes, we finally arrived at Water Word's house.

Dear reader,

This night, the nightmare was different.

I found myself in a field. The field stretched as far as the eye could see.

The only thing growing was pointy, yellow, dead grass and some burned trees and bushes. It gave the landscape a desolate look.

The sun was burning in my back. I turned around to find some shelter, some shadow, but I found none. My throat felt dry like sandpaper.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw the burned remains of a house. Shocked, I staggered backwards, and I tried to run. But I wouldn´t get a centimeter away of the house, how hard I tried. Panting, I sat down, and I looked back to the house. It was the only thing around here with a shadow big enough to be a bit cool.

I walked to the house in a slow pace, but I quickened it when I felt the sun on my back again, burning harder than ever. It almost hurt.

When I was in the shade, I couldn´t stop. I was pulled through that half-burned door. With a bang, the door closed behind me. It was cold in the house, mercifully cold – but then, too cold. It was also too dark.

"Hello."

I jumped and turned around, to see nothing in the shadows. I just couldn't see.

"I'm over here."

I turned to my left. In the shadow of the walls I couldn't see a thing.

"Here, you brat."

I turned around again, to see in the only place with sunshine a huge shadow of a pony. And not only a shadow – a pony, that consisted only of black. His coat was black, his eyes were almost not distinguishable from his coat. His mane and tail weren't like normal ponies; they were made of pure black energy and waved softly like a fire.

"Surprised?" he said, in an amused tone. "We haven't met, have we. You can call me Mörk for lack of other names you're good enough to call me." He smirked evilly. I grew angry.

"Oh, now you're angry, are you?" He laughed, outright mocking me. "Oh, I'm sooo afraid now! Please don't hurt me, ohahahaha!"

"Before you ask me, oh yes, your parents, (hold it for the dramatic effect), are _dead._" He spat out.

I whinced. "Why?" I managed to whisper.

He pointed at me. "Because of _you_."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. And it was in vain, because you're not her."

"Her?"

He grunted. "Oh, you're such an stupid, ignorant, _naïve_, filly."

He regained a bit of his former composure. "Naïve, yes. That's the word. A filly, who is stupid enough to trust the first pony she sees."

He laughed a bit more before turning back to me.

"Oh well. My time is up; I'll best be going. See you later." With a wave of his hoof, he was gone.

The house was gone, the shade was gone. The sun burned not only on my back, but now on my muzzle, my legs, my head – all over my body, the sun was burning. It was excruciating pain. I was screaming, begging it to stop.

I shot up in my bed, panting. I cried in my cushion – again. It was the fifth day in a row that I had similar nightmares. Why couldn't it leave me alone?


	12. The Letter Back

Dear reader,

Today was just another boring day – but I didn't mind. I finished the Daring Do – series, I did some chores around the house, learned some more magic, ate lunch, drank some milk – the usual.

All the while, Water Word kept on his sunglasses. I also noticed the suspicious glances Shadow shot at him, and the glares Water shot at Shadow when he wasn't looking. Something was off here, but I don't know what it is.

Wing Noir is much less grumpy then I first met him. He actually laughed out loud more than a few times today! He can be so funny if he wants to. He doesn't like books, sadly – but I'm sure I can bring some change to that! I have an idea to get him reading, and I'm sure he's going to like it!

Anyway, the sun is setting again. Dinner is ready – we're eating something healthy for a change. Let's see how I like it!

* * *

_To my dear friend, Carbon Copy,_

_I have received your letter. I am glad that she is safe, even though she might not be so for long._

_First, I want to warn you. Closer examination of the Vanhoover fire – the inn she stayed with her friends – reveal that it wasn't an accident, like the papers claim. These darker forces we are speaking about must have lit it in the hope she wouldn't survive._

_But she has survived, and I am happy about that._

_To answer your question as to her importance: the rest of our force has attended a briefing after you have left._

_By the way, there has been some changes to the team. Our close-combat expert has been removed from our team, and replaced by a rookie called Swift Spry. He's good, but he's young and a bit lazy._

_Our swordscolt has retired, as foreseen. He was replaced by a dragon called Enerjak Vocalis. He´s a good swordscolt (well, swordsdragon,) and also very skilled in the air, but he has some problems with teamwork. And he is young, even for a dragon._

_I need to say, though, that Warpath wasn´t glad with the changes. He is going really tough on them, but we need them. Especially Enerjak, because he comes from the Other World._

_But that old half-dragon should know better than to question his bosses._

_Well, that was before the briefing, that is._

_So we got some information about her. Her name's Civviq Writer, she's about eleven years old, and she's from the Other World. But you know this already._

_What you don't know, is who those dark forces are._

_You see, that is all about an old prophecy. An alicorn, called Illuminae, will come to restore the balance in a world off-balance. She has come, before Equestria was created, once or twice every thousand years. She does so by reincarnation._

_Every reincarnation starts off with her being a small, grey earth pony. Every time she learns something new, she'll gain a bit more color. Then a horn and a pair of wings. This will take years and years._

_We don't know for certain yet, but there is a dark cult rising in Equestria. They call themselves the 'Mörklings.' Their leader is rumored to be a pony, all black like a shadow. But you know how rumors can be: exaggerated to dust. But I believe there is a hint of truth._

_We believe that they have found a lead to who this 'Illuminae' will be. This time it will be a human from the Other World. Civviq has been the first one to be transported here – and they have failed, thank Celestia. What they have done to do so, is unknown. Our source, a cultmember who has been arrested, doesn't want to tell us – or simply can't because he doesn't know. We are still looking for his friends, but there is progress._

_Anyway, we believe that they still are watching her. They want to know for one hundred percent sure it isn't her. I believe for one hundred percent she isn't – she doesn't look like a small, helpless filly at all. Besides, judging her colors, we can be pretty sure she isn't this 'Illuminae'._

_We have also tried to find some background information on her friend. His name is Wing Noir, by the way. I believe he is not to be trusted for what he has done in the past. Of course, that is for her to decide. We don't know how much he has told her yet, but I believe it will not be much. I recommend to keep her safely out of distance of Wing Noir._

_What he has done in the past, will not be stated in this letter. His past, and to an extent, his parent's past, is heavily intertwined with the cult. This is another reason for you not to trust him._

_One more thing. The new members of the group has decided to get themselves a name. I just rolled my eyes and Warpath practically face-hoofed (or clawed), but they wanted to know your opinion too. Their options are 'the Revengers', 'Team Alpha', 'Team Illuminae', 'Operation Without A Cool Name, 'The Z-force', or 'The Epic Assembling Mightyness,' or TEAM. They aren't good, but if you know any better, please send it in. I'm voting for 'TEAM', by the way._

_I await your reply,_

_Your friend,_

_Snipit Heartstrings_

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Another round of Disclaimers:**

**Civviq Writer: me**

**Water Word: me**

**Mörker: me**

**Wing Noir: TH3 BL1ND PR0PH3T (FimFiction and FanFiction)**

**Shadowflame (shadow): Shadowflame (FimFiction)**

**Carbon Copy: CarbonLegend (FanFiction)**

**Swift Spry: Zap97 (FanFiction)**

**Snipit Heartstrings: BroniesB4Hoenies (FanFiction)**

**Enerjak Vocalis: Thanatos's Scribe (FanFiction)**

**Warpath: the Guest ( FanFiction)**

**MLP: FIM belongs to its respectful owners (Hasbro etc.)**


	13. Questions

Dear reader,

I'm afraid I can't sleep.

The moonlight is shining in my eyes. Pulling the blankets over my eyes and turning away doesn't help – then I'm facing Wing Noirs door. The dream from last night kept haunting me. He was the first pony I really met, but that doesn't matter. I trust him; we're friends. Our friendship means something to him – I'm absolutely sure about that.

But where would I be if he weren't friendly? Am I really so naïve? Yesterday, and all the other days I've been here, he turned out to be a true friend. I felt safe around him… I don't know what that feeling means…

My thoughts are going in spirals, but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Then again… he's hiding something. But if he would do something to me, he would've done it ages ago! So, yes, I can trust him, even though he doesn't tell the whole story. I mean, who set me up to think he wouldn't be trusted? Mörk! A bad guy! A shadow, claiming I had murdered my parents! And I should believe him!?

Then again… I do trust the first one to be nice to me, and what if they weren't?

Oh, come on! I need my sleep!

I noticed the moonlight had moved. Even though my vision was blurred without my glasses, I still could see that the moon was full.

Oh, Luna, help me, I prayed to the moon, in the hope that she would come just like the first time. Finally, after a while, my eyelids grew heavier and at last I fell asleep.

* * *

The dream began in the dead field, the sun burning on my back. The grass was yellow and the lone tree that stood there was dead, its trunk almost black from the heat. The sun grew hotter and hotter, until it hurt. I tried to run, to scream – but I couldn't. It was as if my legs were glued to the ground.

Then, I could just make out the voice of… somepony. I couldn't hear who it was or what it said, but the moment I heard it, I felt my surroundings change. It was as I went back in time. The grass became green and soft, the tree that stood there grew back into its former glory and grew lots of leaves. Its shade stretched so far that it covered me, protecting me from the hot sun.

I recognized the tree. It was the tree where I woke up. The big, old oak tree, stretching up so high, it made me feel so small. It wasn´t bad, however. It made me think of my first day… of Wing Noir. He was my best friend. I smiled, thinking of him.

A vile laugh echoed through the fields. I tensed up when I recognized his voice.

Mörk.

Several trees shot up from the ground, blocking all the sunlight, making it really dark. Not just night-dark, but really-scary-dark. I shivered, because by blocking out the sun, you block out the warmth too. And that made it at least a few degrees cooler and counting. But what really worried me, was that I couldn't see the old oak anymore. I don't know why – but I felt a lot less secure.

There was that voice again. I couldn't hear what he said, but it was vaguely familiar. A faint shimmer caught my attention the moment I heard it. I tried to lift my hoof, but I couldn't. I squinted my eyes to look better.

It was… a cart? No – a wagon! It was the same wagon I spend the first night in! I lifted my hoof again, and this time I succeeded! I walked to the door, but there I stopped. The laughing entered my head again and in the doorway stood… Mörk.

I tried to back away, but I couldn't. Something stopped me, and I believe it is him. His eyes were so black – not just his irises, but what was supposed to be white was black as well – or at least a very, very dark grey. His manes were like black fire, burning at his head.

At that moment, the other voice could be heard. This time I could hear whose it was.

Wing Noir.

He was calling me to wake up.

I saw Mörk putting a sour face, but immediately it was vile again. It truly scared me. I heard a loud bang high above me and a yell.. I couldn't see what it was, but Mörk was grinning even wider now.

I saw something coming down. It floated, slowly, like a feather in the wind. But it wasn't a feather. It was a hat. I recognized it as Wing Noir's hat. It landed right in front of my hooves. I could smell his scent all over it… and something else I couldn't place It was too dark to see it well, however.

As if on cue, Mörks grin got wider and wider while some branches high above me gave way to let the sun in. I looked back at the hat.

It was covered in blood. Noir's blood.

I screamed now, really, really hard. I staggered backwards, shaking my head, shutting my eyes tight, hoping it wasn't true. Mörk was laughing, and abruptly stopped to point at me and hiss, "This is all your fault."

I cried, hoping for it to stop. And finally, finally, I woke up. Above me hovered Wing Noir, his eyes big with concern.

"Civ! Are you okay? You were screaming really loud."

I shot up, panting. He landed next to me.

"Ci- oof!"

I whimpered, and before I could stop myself, I hugged him while crying my eyes out – but he hugged me back. I pulled away when I was a little calmer. I blushed, wildly.

"Sorry…"

He blushed too. "I – it's okay, Civ. I know how bad those nightmares can get…"

I looked away, my cheeks burning.

"Are those nightmares… Are they always the same?" he asked, curious.

I shook my head. "No. This one was really different. It was good and bad at the same time. I know it sounds weird, but.." I sighed. "It's so hard to explain… But there is this Mörk, who, I think is, causing all this."

Noir frowned. "Who is Mörk?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I don't know! That's what I'm trying to find out."

I breathed in, shakily, and sighed. "I don't know if I can take any more of these sleepless nights."

Noir nodded. "Maybe Shadow can help. I mean, he is a teacher after all. He read a lot of books, I'm sure he's got something about dreams."

I sighed. "I hope so."

I sat up on the couch, and Noir landed next to me. He put a reassuring hoof on my shoulder and smiled.

"You can always tell me anything, if you want to."

I smiled. "Thanks. I… I really appreciate it."

Outside, the early morning rays made the stars fade away. The moon was gone and the sky was beginning to show beautiful morning colors.

Wing Noir yawned. "I think it's too late to go to bed now…"

I sighed. "But it's still too early to get up."

Noir thought for a moment. "How about… we go watch the sunrise?"

I frowned. "How?"

He smiled confidently. "Well…"

He opened the window and flew through it. He landed on the window-sill and reached his hoof to grab mine.

I hesitated; Noir smiled.

"Come on, Civ. It'll be fun."

I still wasn't really sure about this…

"Do you trust me?"

I looked into his golden-brown eyes. I breathed in, nodded and grabbed his hoof.

He flew me up to the roof. He smiled when we landed.

I looked around. From here, you had a clear view from the sunrise – and what view it is…

"Well? What do you think?" Noir asked.

The view was breathtaking. The buildings, to the east, were colored beautifully in several kinds of pinks, purples, oranges and yellows. The snow on the mountains that surrounded the valley were like gold. The valley that stretched to the west, was beautifully lit by the sun that just reached the point where we could see it without anything standing in the way.

"It's… It's amazing!" I exclaimed.

He snickered. "When I had a bad dream early in the morning, my mother would take me up to the roof too, and show me the sunrise. She said, that it was the best way to make you forget a bad dream."

I smiled. "Yes. It is the best way."

And so, we sat there side by side, until the morning colors had faded away and the delicious smells of breakfast reached our noses.

* * *

About breakfast.

Well, breakfast itself was… a bit tense.

There was a loaded silence hanging above the kitchen table. Shadow wasn´t really enjoying breakfast, or so it seemed. From time to time I saw him glaring at Water Word. I wonder what that´s all about. There wasn't any meaningful conversation either, only some statements like what we are going to do today or what we would like to do or what we should do.

There was some need for groceries, however. Apparently, we were low on apples (even though I could swear I saw a whole bunch of apples in the fridge). Water Word suggested Shadowflame to get them.

And so, at eight he set off to go to the nearest store that sells good apples. That would be a fifteen-minute walk to the shop, and fifteen minutes back – or even more, if the traffic lights were against you.

Now, this all happened about two hours ago. It is now five minutes to ten, and, well, we are getting a bit worried.

I mean, sure, it can take a lot of time to walk there. It could be busy in the shop… But even then, he would be back within the hour. But two whole hours…? Even Noir became a bit uneasy. We're just sitting in the living room, the three of us, reading or doing nothing.

The clock on the mantelpiece stroke ten times. Ten o'clock; two full hours have passed. When the last strike has faded away, Water Word chuckled. "It seems Snipit did his job right."

Snipit? I frowned. "Who is Snipit?"

Water Word stood up, facing us. "Children…"

He took a deep breath. "And in particularly you, Civviq Writer…"

Wing Noir tensed up.

"I'm sorry."

He put off his sunglasses, which revealed neon blue eyes. Hi His horn glowed neon blue as well, wrapping his body in a blue glow. His coat began to change from blue to black, and his mane and tail became neon blue. Even his cutie mark changed, into two katana swords: one made of silver, and one made of… carbon, I think. Something grey.

Wait. What?

When his transformation was complete, he lit his horn once again and a blinding fla

* * *

Okay.

My head hurts.

But still… Wait, I'm writing?

Okay. Okay.

I can't see a thing… Where are my glasses? Oh, there they are.

Okay. Now I can see something.

Apparently, I'm in a room… It's a round room. I'm lying on… a rug… It's soft, it tickles… it's grey, like the stones. The room is empty, well, except for the rug, of course. There wasn't a single piece of furniture.

The color of my saddlebags stand out against the dull colors. Yellow, with orange. Not exactly a fashion statement – but it's a great saddlebag.

The orange lid was open, but nothing was taken. It still had a map, my spare quill and a sack with a few bits in it I set apart. There were also a few apples… I wonder where they came from. I strapped my saddlebag back on my back.

The room is lit by torches. There aren't any windows. There… There is no door?

Great, I'm trapped. I'm at the mercy of the one who teleported me here.

Also… Where's Wing Noir? Did something bad happen to him? Why isn't he here with me, I mean, that Carbon Copy has teleported him somewhere as well, right? But why not here?

Oh… Why? Where is everypony? Why did they take me here?

I bit my lip to stop the tears from falling. I knew there was no means of escape – but that didn't stop me from panicking and crying and oh what am I doing…

Take a deep breath.

And breath out…

I close my ey

* * *

-es.

My eyes.

And now I'm somewhere else entirely.

But all my belongings have travelled with me, so that's a great reli

…And I almost dropped the quill when I realized exactly where I was.

In a hall.

With lots of …creatures… staring at me.

The only thing that breaks the silence is the scribbling of my quill so I think I'm stopping now…

* * *

_To the Faithfullest Follower of our Dark Lord Mörk, and our current leader, Black Heart,_

_We are truly regretful to report that we have failed in capturing our First Attempt, Civviq Writer. _

_However, in the moment that she was teleported away, we have succeeded in capturing her friend, Wing Noir, and one of her allies, Carbon Copy._

_I believe the friend will be useful to us, serving as bait. And maybe we will be able to turn him to our side, like his father before him. I believe his father, Aile Noir, is trying to persuade him now. _

_Until further notice, we will continue informing you of our findings. _

_Your faithful servant, _

_Leader of the Second Division_

_Head Mare of Alpha 1_

_Supervisor of Actions_

_Betelgeuse_


End file.
